Things are starting to look up again even though the load-shedding is supposed to get worse. Still, I feel more and more settled each day and the pattern of everyday life, working week and weekend life juxtaposed against each other, it's all starting to make sense.
Despite this new positive outlook, my brain hurts today. Sitting in coffeeshops full of screaming 3-12 year old blonde blue-eyed kids isn't exactly helping. Talk about culture-shock. It feels...strange. Exposed. I'm not the type who usually hangs out with prepackaged group stereotypes, yet here I am, in the heart of the expat life of cafés, restaurants, bars, gyms, and yoga centres, blogging no less. I have so much respect for those who manage to find a way into normal local life and stay there. That's what experiencing different cultures is all about.
Yesterday I went to Patan's Durbar Square and explored the local heritage site. It was surprisingly enjoyable, not overly touristy, and if you walk down back alleys you're in the middle of local Nepali commerce, dodging meat trucks, water buckets and being sold numerous quantities of aromatic spices.
If you make it on to the square by following the main road, which you should, you're suddenly surrounded by beautiful indo-european architecture. Someone of course will come up to you as you're entering the square and tell you to buy an admission ticket on account of you being a foreign visitor. Here you have two choices depending on your willingness to contribute to increasingly corrupt and greedy system guarding Nepal's heritages sites. You can pay like a good tourist, but make sure you check the tourist officer's credentials first, or you can make like a Nepali and tell them you're a resident. Residents don't pay admission.
Walking along the square you'll see tall buildings and domes made out of a mixtures of stone and wood carvings, windows and statues. The buildings are accessible to the public, with the exception of a large hotel in the centre of the square, and some are even host to small restaurants and cafes where you can sit and enjoy the picturesque view. Locals and tourists alike seem to enjoy this view, and you hear couples giggling in the shade, and children playing in the alleys. Personally, I found Patan's Durbar Sq. to be more genuine and enjoyable than Thamel's, although this may all change as it increases in popularity.
If you make it on to the square by following the main road, which you should, you're suddenly surrounded by beautiful indo-european architecture. Someone of course will come up to you as you're entering the square and tell you to buy an admission ticket on account of you being a foreign visitor. Here you have two choices depending on your willingness to contribute to increasingly corrupt and greedy system guarding Nepal's heritages sites. You can pay like a good tourist, but make sure you check the tourist officer's credentials first, or you can make like a Nepali and tell them you're a resident. Residents don't pay admission.
Walking along the square you'll see tall buildings and domes made out of a mixtures of stone and wood carvings, windows and statues. The buildings are accessible to the public, with the exception of a large hotel in the centre of the square, and some are even host to small restaurants and cafes where you can sit and enjoy the picturesque view. Locals and tourists alike seem to enjoy this view, and you hear couples giggling in the shade, and children playing in the alleys. Personally, I found Patan's Durbar Sq. to be more genuine and enjoyable than Thamel's, although this may all change as it increases in popularity.
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